House of Flying Daggers commentary

In our class, the feeling of heavy Westernization (strongly relying on visual effects and CGI to attract and hold an audience) is strong; however, the plot at least is strong, and the scenery complements it in an interesting way. The plot is indeed twisty, with the audience probably most confused with Jin, who is sort of the hero (sort of, in that the audience is directed to believe that he’s noble subverting the failed government and saving Xiao), then realizing he’s only attempting to infiltrate the Flying Daggers. This twisting plot line is complemented by the very simplistic and constantly beautiful scenery. the frequent symmetrical shots, like the image above, strike balance and simplicity where the plot is still developing in its non-linear fashion. The forests of bamboo and birch trees and the fields of flowers seem to be a happy constant for the love affair (an affair realized by the audience only near the end) between Jin and Xiao to thrive. When the lover confront each other, however, this happy medium is turned into a snowy, cold, forbidding expanse.